Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. Buys New Position in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 39,934 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,019,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keene & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 19,420 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,074 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,579 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 41,854 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 110,637 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,822,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

NASDAQ:RPRX traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $32.57. 1,049,720 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,251,773. The company has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.45. Royalty Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $24.05 and a 1 year high of $34.20.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 37.94%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $42.50.

Royalty Pharma Profile

Royalty Pharma plc operates as a buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties and a funder of innovations in the biopharmaceutical industry in the United States. It is also involved in the identification, evaluation, and acquisition of royalties on various biopharmaceutical therapies. In addition, the company collaborates with innovators from academic institutions, research hospitals and not-for-profits, small and mid-cap biotechnology companies, and pharmaceutical companies.